


And Merlin Waited

by readerbeforewriter



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Reincarnation, Waiting for Arthur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2013-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-05 22:49:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1099497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/readerbeforewriter/pseuds/readerbeforewriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is just a short little piece I wrote on Arthur's reincarnation. It's my take on it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And Merlin Waited

As time passed, Merlin waited. As buildings decayed into a state of ruin, Merlin waited. As empires fell, Merlin waited. And as everything around him eventually shriveled up and died, Merlin did not.

  
Another thing that Merlin did not do was try to integrate himself into these new cultures. Around two hundred years after Arthur's death he built himself a house and stayed inside it.

  
By the year 2013, this house had become something his community took for granted. They thought of it as where the crazy old man lived. Had they really thought about it, they would have realized that the crazy old man had been a crazy old man since they were children, but, as it happened, no one spared it enough thought to come to that conclusion.

  
Except the local teenagers. They spared a little more thought for the old man than the rest of the neighborhood, though they too, in time, would forget. For now though, they were the only ones daring, though some would say stupid, enough to provoke him. They would walk by his house shouting names, they would make up crazy stories about what he had done, and, some days, they would even dare approach him. November the twelfth was one of those fateful days.

  
A seventeen year old boy named Arthur was the talk of this town, since his father was one of the richest business men in the U.K., and he was the star of his high school football team. He had friends by the dozens and was adored by all. And when I say all, I mean all. Unless you had been living under a rock for the past decade, you knew about him, and you adored him. It just so happened that the crazy old man in the creepy house had practically been living under a rock and for more than just a decade. The only Arthur he knew of was one long dead (and Conan Doyle. He had a large Sherlock Holmes collection).

  
But this new Arthur did know of him. So on that day, November 12, Arthur and some friends pulled up in their trucks about a block away from the old man’s house. Loaded down with toilet paper and eggs, they approached it, and at Arthur’s command, the boys began their attack.

  
Eggs nailed the walls by the dozens. Toilet paper was quickly strung from all the trees. For the first seven minutes of their attack, the house stayed still. But at that seven minute mark, the door slowly creaked open. The old man looked tired, sad, and, most of all, annoyed.

  
“Now, just what do you boys think you are doing?!” He said with a grunt and a creepy frown, putting on his best Dragoon the Great appearance. “Just going to bother an old man, ruin his house? No. I do not have time for this. Go away.” And just like that, he spun around on his heel and shut the door.

  
The boys looked around; surprise and relief filled their faces. The old man wasn’t even going to do anything! They turned to walk away, having had their fun, but Arthur held up his hand to stop them. He picked up another dozen eggs and began to throw them one by one, each one pegging the door perfectly. This time it only took thirty seconds for the door to open. And when it did, an egg hit the old man squarely in the head. “Come on, run old man. I like a moving target.” Arthur taunted as he threw another.

  
But the man didn’t run. Instead, he froze. Slowly, he turned his head in the direction of Arthur. His lips formed the word “Arthur” but made no sound. He stood there, shocked, staring. Arthur, seeming to realize the effect he’d had, took a step back. Then, recovering himself, he threw another egg, but the old man smiled, reached up, and caught it. At that, Arthur turned and ran. The shout “you clotpole” followed after him. He never even stopped to wonder what they meant.

  
November 13 was the day that an odd boy by the name of Merlin Emrys enrolled in the local high school. Odd because he was practically a genius in every single class, but he had no idea how to work a computer. Even odder because he had the exact same schedule as Arthur. And the oddest because he completely disrespected Arthur, never allowing the blond boy to beat him at anything.

 

He not only annoyed Arthur constantly, but also followed him around all the time. He made sure that there was no way the boy could miss him. He did this for months, trying to make new memories while simultaneously trying to make Arthur remember the old ones, until one day, Arthur flung Merlin’s door open and, tears streaming down his face, approached Merlin to merely whispered “I remember”

**Author's Note:**

> Um, I don't really have anything to say here. I hope you guys liked it. Oh, and Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING OF MERLIN


End file.
